Amy's Place .. Poetry and Potpourri .. Mar.21 - Mar. 28, 2004

3-21-04 | JustAmy, St. Louie1 and Mama_Bear

[Victoria Delsoul]

Happy Sing Out Day, Jen. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks, for helping out with Amy's Place. I know Amy appreciates it very much.

I had offered to post the welcome graphics and ping everyone while Amy was on vacation, but as it turns out, I will be out of town helping my son get settled in his new house tomorrow through Friday. I am hoping that he will have internet access by Wednesday so that I can post the graphics from his computer for the rest of the week. If I can't, I have given the ping list and html codes for the graphics to JK and he will post and ping everyone.

Of all weeks for me to be away, it would have to be the one week I had promised to help Amy. :-(

Amy is so conscientious about her thread and keeping the welcome mat out and the doors open. I hope she can relax and enjoy her much deserved vacation.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Oh, it's OK, Lori. Don't worry about it. I'll be posting again tomorrow. Let me know if you want me to post it on Tuesday.

[Mama_Bear]

Yes, I will definitely need you, or someone, to post the graphic and ping everyone on Tuesday. I should be able to do the rest of the week. If I can't, JK will.

I need to be out of here early tomorrow morning, so I need to get to bed. Thanks again.

Good night. Sweet dreams. ((((((((Victoria)))))))))

[Mama_Bear]

I see what you're saying, you posted the Monday graphic tonight and you are going to post the Tuesday graphic tomorrow night, right?

That works out fine. I will take over after that.

[Victoria Delsoul]

That works out fine. I will take over after that.

Oh great, Lori. Glad to help.

Nighty night and sweet dreams.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !

[Conspiracy Guy]

I like that.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Good work again.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Thanks

[Conspiracy Guy]

I'm singing Rainy Night in Georgia with Brooks Benton. He's singing harmony and I'm singing lead.

[ValerieUSA]

Good morning. I'm back from Odessa - had a bit of wild weather over there this weekend.

[ValerieUSA]

I love that song, no matter who sings it. So far.

[Conspiracy Guy]

For a white guy I can be very soulful. But I can't dance.
Rainy Night in Georgia is one of the best songs ever recorded. Brooks Benton sings it almost as well as I do ; )

[The Mayor]

The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. -Proverbs 10:7

When others think of you, do they think of Jesus?

[The Mayor]

March 22, 2004

Making A Name

Read: Proverbs 10:1-17

The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. —Proverbs 10:7

Bible In One Year: Joshua 10-12; Luke 1:39-56

---

In the mid-1800s, Texas rancher Samuel Augustus Maverick refused to brand his cattle. When neighboring cowboys came upon a calf without a brand, they called it a "maverick." The word entered the English language and came to refer to a person who takes an independent stand and refuses to conform.

Other names have become words that describe a person's character and behavior: Judas and Benedict Arnold both mean "traitor." An Einstein is a genius, while a Solomon is a wise man.

Few of our names will become part of a language, but they signify who we are and how we have lived—today and for generations to come. Solomon said, "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. . . . He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known" (Proverbs 10:7,9).

When we think of someone we know and admire, the words we associate with that person's name are usually the character traits we'd like to have as well. Honesty, generosity, and love often head the list. We see these in our Lord Jesus Christ, who allows us as Christians to bear His name.

Today, the Lord wants to work in us to make our name one that points to Him. —David McCasland

I'd rather die than bring disgrace
Upon my Lord, His name debase;
So I will live my life each day
To honor Christ and walk His way. —Hess

When others think of you, do they think of Jesus?

[OESY]

The Dead Parrot Sketch
Monty Python
The Pet Shoppe
A customer enters a pet shop.

Customer: 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint.

(The owner does not respond.)

C: 'Ello, Miss?

Owner: What do you mean "miss"?

C: I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint!

O: We're closin' for lunch.

C: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.

O: Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?

C: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!

O: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.

C: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

O: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!

C: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.

O: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!

C: All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up!

(shouting at the cage)

'Ello, Mister Polly Parrot! I've got a lovely fresh cuttle fish for you if you show...(owner hits the cage)

O: There, he moved!

C: No, he didn't, that was you hitting the cage!

O: I never!!

C: Yes, you did!

O: I never, never did anything...

C: (yelling and hitting the cage repeatedly) 'ELLO POLLY!!!!!

Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call!

(Takes parrot out of the cage and thumps its head on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.)

C: Now that's what I call a dead parrot.

O: No, no.....No, 'e's stunned!

C: STUNNED?!?

O: Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Norwegian Blues stun easily, major.

C: Um...now look...now look, mate, I've definitely 'ad enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not 'alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein' tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.

O: Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.

C: PININ' for the FJORDS?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that?, look, why did he fall flat on his back the moment I got 'im home?

O: The Norwegian Blue prefers kippin' on it's back! Remarkable bird, id'nit, squire? Lovely plumage!

C: Look, I took the liberty of examining that parrot when I got it home, and I discovered the only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the first place was that it had been NAILED there.

(pause)

O: Well, o'course it was nailed there! If I hadn't nailed that bird down, it would have nuzzled up to those bars, bent 'em apart with its beak, and VOOM! Feeweeweewee!

C: "VOOM"?!? Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you put four million volts through it! 'E's bleedin' demised!

O: No no! 'E's pining!

C: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker!

'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies!
'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig!
'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!

THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

(pause)

O: Well, I'd better replace it, then.

(he takes a quick peek behind the counter)

O: Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of parrots.

C: I see. I see, I get the picture.

O: I got a slug.

(pause)

C: (sweet as sugar) Pray, does it talk?

O: Nnnnot really.

C: WELL IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!!???!!?

O: Look, if you go to my brother's pet shop in Bolton, he'll replace the parrot for you.

C: Bolton, eh? Very well.

The customer leaves.

The customer enters the same pet shop. The owner is putting on a false moustache.

C: This is Bolton, is it?

O: (with a fake mustache) No, it's Ipswitch.

C: (looking at the camera) That's inter-city rail for you.

The customer goes to the train station.

He addresses a man standing behind a desk marked "Complaints".

C: I wish to complain, British-Railways Person.

Attendant: I DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS JOB, YOU KNOW!!!

C: I beg your pardon...?

A: I'm a qualified brain surgeon! I only do this job because I like being my own boss!

C: Excuse me, this is irrelevant, isn't it?

A: Yeah, well it's not easy to pad these python files out to 200 lines, you know.

C: Well, I wish to complain. I got on the Bolton train and found myself deposited here in Ipswitch.

A: No, this is Bolton.

C: (to the camera) The pet shop man's brother was lying!!

A: Can't blame British Rail for that.

C: In that case, I shall return to the pet shop!

He does.

C: I understand this IS Bolton.

O: (still with the fake mustache) Yes?

C: You told me it was Ipswitch!

O: ...It was a pun.

C: (pause) A PUN?!?

O: No, no...not a pun...What's that thing that spells the same backwards as forwards?

C: (Long pause) A palindrome...?

O: Yeah, that's it!

C: It's not a palindrome! The palindrome of "Bolton" would be "Notlob"!! It don't work!!

O: Well, what do you want?

C: I'm not prepared to pursue my line of inquiry any longer as I think this is getting too silly!

Sergeant-Major: Quite agree, quite agree, too silly, far too silly...

[Alberta's Child]

Morning, Victoria. Have a great time off this week -- I'll be checking in here at around lunchtime today.

Good to see you filling in here for JustAmy!

[OESY]

Life imitates ... Monty Python? Woman takes pet shop to court over dead parrot

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CNN) -- October 14, 1997: It's no Monty Python joke: A Swedish woman is taking a local pet shop to court for selling her a parrot that died after a couple of days. The shop says the bird may just have been sleeping.

The woman paid 4,900 crowns ($650) for the parrot last year.

But a few days after she took the bird home it started behaving strangely, becoming apathetic and then losing its sense of balance so it could not sit on its perch.

She took the parrot to a nearby vet but it died a few hours later, Swedish news agency TT reported on Tuesday. She immediately buried her dead pet.

When the woman went back to the pet shop to complain, the shop owner refused to believe the parrot was dead, because the customer could not produce the body, and said maybe it had just been sleeping.

The case, which now goes to a local court in Malmo in southern Sweden, reads like a scene from the former British TV series "Monty Python's Flying Circus." The comedy troupe once performed a skit in which a pet shop owner argues with a customer over whether a recently perished parrot is dead or merely sleeping.

[NicknamedBob]

I like your pictures. We had a stunning sunrise here in Maryland today, as well...

Sunwink

I’ve always loved the sunset,
A bow upon the day,
That’s been wrapped up in lovingness,
All set to put away.

To place among the memories,
Of happy days gone by,
For times when things don’t go so well,
On days that make you cry.

A sunrise is as lovely,
But colder is its way,
More distant in the joyfulness,
That happens every day.

Though lens can’t separate them,
The difference is this,
The sunrise is a promise,
And sunset is a kiss.

NicknamedBob . . . . March 22, 2004